Students throughout the country enter college each year without theneeded study skills. It is not unusual for bright students to get throughthe lower grades and even through high school without much studying. Butwhen those same students get to college they often find they are completelylost and their grades are falling at alarming rates. Study skills incollage are vital if the student wants to get the most out of his collegeexperience and wants to succeed. In addition, the student may want to go onto a graduate program and will need the best grades he is capable of toapply to the program of his choice.
Study skills do more than assist in getting the best grades a person iscapable of. They also help prepare the student for the work world that hewill enter upon graduation. In the work world there are many jobs whichrequire a certain amount of personal study time or training time. If theemployee developed good solid study skills during college then the abilityto study and learn new job skills will be there.
Solid study skills in college also prepare the college student withgood time management skills, which will be valuable in the jobmarket(Stewart 1999) . Time management is vital in many areas of lifeincluding college(Stewart 1999) . For each class a student takes theteacher has an expectation that the student will devote several hours perweek studying that class material , notes and preparing for tests. Managingthe time for study will allow the student to stay on top of the study needsinstead of having to cram at the end of the period for the test. Inaddition effective time management of study time will lessen the time thestudent has to spend studying. Learning how to study can be very timeeffective(Stewart 1999) . The college student who reads, pulls out keypoints and makes notes about them , then reviews those notes will in theend be better prepared and use less time than the college student who waitsuntil the night before the test to read the entire coursework and try andmemorize it(Stewart 1999) .
Another help to study skills is for a college student to do homeworkassignments soon after they are assigned(Stewart 1999) . In high schoolthere is much more structure with the teacher assigning work that isgenerally due the following day(Stewart 1999) . However in college theteacher will often hand out the entire semester’s assignments on the firstday of school and not mention them again. it is up to the college studentto plan his time and break the assignments into manageable blocksthroughout the semester. Solid study skills will have the student alreadyprepared in how to do this because study skills involve planning and use oftime.
“A recent study by the American School Counselor Association and Sylvanfound that nearly 60 percent of school counselors surveyed believe studentsare not adequately prepared to tackle homework assignments. Seventy percentof the counselors said teachers in their school think students have poorstudy skills(Stewart 1999) .” Very few schools offer classes on how to develop solid study skills,therefore students are left to their own devices when it comes to figuringa method out(Stewart 1999) . Unfortunately waiting until the grades beginto fall is not the time to start the study skill learning process, itshould be instilled before entering school(Stewart 1999) .
A lack of study skills at the college level can be costly in severalways. The first way it can be costly to the student is in tuition and classfee costs. A college student who does not have solid strong study skills isat risk for failing classes and having to take them over again. This meansadditional class fees as well as more tuition if those additional classesprolong the projected graduation date.
College students who are willing and skilled at spending a few hoursa week preparing and studying their class subjects saves themselves lotsof frustration and anxiety later(Palmer 1996) .
Research has demonstrated students who have accessto a study skill course have a higher retention rate when it comes tomaterial at test time(Michael 1995).
There are many steps to proper studying. It involves listening ,reading, processing information and receiving information(Study 1999) . Themost important things a college student needs to do to improve study skillsis to learn how to use motivational techniques, develop memory techniques,learn how to write outlines and take good notes and learn effective timemanagement skills for studying(Study 1999) .
The majority to college success is motivation. That motivation can beapplied to study skills to further advance the level of success the studentexperiences(Houston http://www.shsu.edu/~) . If one wants to do well incollege they must be willing to set aside time for studying.One of the waysa college student can begin to manage study time and get himself moreregimented about it is to join a study group that meets on a regular basis.
This will get him in the habit of studying at the same time and help himpick up study tips by participating with other college students(Houstonhttp://www.shsu.edu/~) .
The student should be sure to include facts such as the following.
Several studies have proven that students who develop study skills forcollege and apply them from the first day of school are more successfulthan students who do not(Schumm 1992).
As we head into the new millenium the world is becoming morecomplicate every year. Young adults often try and get through college infewer years than before in an effort to get into the work world as soon aspossible. Other students are on scholarships and must maintain certainGPA’s to keep their funding. For these students and students like Joey,having solid study skills in place when they enter college will help thembe successful in the final leg of their formal educational process.
REFERENCESCollege Study Skills. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3843/study2.htmlPalmer, Sue (1996 July). Could do better – but how?Independent.
OBTAINED FROM DATABASE SEARCH OF ELIBRARY.COMMichael, Frank (1995 September). Why student withdraw from classes.
The Journal of PsychologyOBTAINED FROM DATABASE SEARCH OF ELIBRARY.COMSam Houston State UniversityCounseling Center http://www.shsu.edu/~counsel/study_skills.htmlSchumm, Shay (1992 November). Active learning strategies for masteringlecture material. Journal of Reading . v36 n3 p222(2)Stewart, Mark (1999, September).Students often need help with timemanagementThe Washington TimesOBTAINED FROM DATABASE SEARCH OF ELIBRARY.COM
